Kirsty is happily married and expecting her first baby, when she sees her ex-boyfriend from her school days, at the hospital where she works. When Hughie claims not to recognise her, she knows he is hiding something.

Determined to find out why Hughie won’t acknowledge her, Kirsty starts to dig for answers.

Told from the POVs of Kirsty and Hughie, this gripping page turner had me captivated as the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. There were some stunning twists, you know those full-on gasp loud moments? Yep, those! Absolutely brilliant!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, S. E. Lynes and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

3 stars
Publication date January 26, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Kirsty works as a midwife in a hospital, amd is very close to having a baby herself. While on break one day, she thinks she sees her ex-boyfriend from years ago, who disappeared suddenly from her life. When she approaches him, he denies he is the ex, and has a different name. But she knows it is him. Meanwhile, her elderly neighbor and friend goes missing, and she starts to believe her missing neighbor and reappearance of her ex are related.

This story has a couple of good, surprising twists. As with most psychological thrillers, it is pretty far-fetched at times, but thats why I keep reading them!

This thriller was really well done, with a suspenseful storyline and clever twists. It’s not one I’ll forget easily.

Kirsty is a midwife who is heavily pregnant. On one of her shifts, she bumps into a man she’s convinced is her ex-boyfriend from ten years ago—the one who abruptly disappeared and broke her heart. He, however, pretends not to know her and goes by a different name now. This chance meeting sets off a dramatic series of events, revealing a web of secrets, lies, and betrayal.

The story is told from both Kirsty’s and the ex-boyfriend’s perspectives. I appreciated the author’s use of dramatic irony to create suspense. Reading the ex-boyfriend’s POV felt like being inside the head of an unreliable narrator. I love being in the head of a good villain—especially a book villain!

The story unfolds through a series of recordings and transcripts, which made me even more curious—I couldn’t wait to find out why they were being recorded in the first place.

The language flowed seamlessly, keeping me hooked to my Kindle the entire time. The author does such a great job of building suspense and tension throughout.

This was a brilliant thriller and one I’d absolutely recommend to all thriller/mystery lovers. If you enjoy true crime documentaries, this is even better.

Thanks to @bookouture and @netgalley for this review copy. All opinions are my own

I was very intrigued to dive into this book as the concept is right up my alley. Kristy is a delivery nurse who is also at the end of her own pregnancy. While walking the halls of the hospital, she sees someone she never thought to see again: her ex-boyfriend, Hughie. But is it really him? This one moment sends Kristy on a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts regarding herself and her past. When something happens to a neighbor of hers, she instantly goes into conspiracy mode largely impacted by Hughie's appearance.

I have to say that I was let down by this book. It was a decent story, but not one that I'll remember fondly to others. S.E. Lynes is a wonderful author who can deal out prose with the best of them, but the directions of this plotline didn't fit together for me. From Kristy's automatic conspiracy theories that aren't very believable to the incessant rambling in the journal in the final chapter, I was just not hooked. While there were twists and turns, they were predictable except for the couple that seemed too random to be true.

The writing style was easy to follow, though, and the storyline flowed well, keeping me reading despite not connecting with the characters or concept. I would read another book from this Lynes, but I wouldn't choose this book to recommend to others.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

This was not one I loved as much as I had hoped. I found the storyline to take a long while to hook me in . It didn't work for me.

Well then.. This book absolutely baffled my head. The amount of twists and turns was crazy! I nearly stopped reading after the first maybe 2 chapters but I'm so glad I continued to read it.

At first I thought it was so predictable, which I suppose in a way it was even with its twists but that ending, the letter... Blew. My. Mind.

Honestly I'm a sucker for a thriller/mystery and so far this one has been one of the best ones I've read.

If you do read this, persevere through the first few chapters, it definitely picks up!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. Kirsty, pregnant, thinks she sees an ex that left her abruptly in the past. But he is saying it's not him and he is going by a different name. I enjoyed following Kirsty, in her exploits to find out what was really going on. Great book.

The Perfect Boyfriend by S.E. Lynes is intense -. Like cancel-your-plans-for-the-weekend-good. The 2 POV’s are written like they are being carefully documented for something-but you don’t know what - possibly an interrogation - whatever it was, I wasn’t going to stop reading until I found out. This is a phycological thriller/mystery. Heavy on the psycho. The title was a bit misleading, because “perfect” - he was not. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC and sleep deprivation.

This is a very decent psychological thriller set in Aberdeen. This novel has a certain charm - largely due to the draw of main character, Kirsty - a midwife, who is about to start her own maternity leave.

On one of her final shifts, Kirsty can barely believe her eyes, she sees a new doctor who she feels sure is the boyfriend of 10 years ago, who abruptly broke her heart, never to be seen again. Kirsty shouts his name, but he claims to be someone else. Whether this is coincidence or something more sinister, a series of unfortunate events is set in motion - including the mysterious disappearance of Kirsty's neighbour....

I won't say more for fear of providing spoilers, but I will say not everyone makes it out alive, and there are more that one fabulous plot twists - smoke and mirrors at their finest!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

Heavily pregnant midwife Kirsty is nearing her due date when she bumps into someone she thinks is her ex boyfriend Hughie in the hospital where she works. Hughie disappeared when they were teenagers leaving a nasty note so Kirsty feels like there is unfinished business. Calling out to him he ignores her and then claims to be someone else, Kirsty is convinced it is Hughie so seta about finding out why he is lying and why he left her years previously.

Adding to her stress is her elderly next door neighbour Joan who starts acting strangely and then Kirsty believes she has disappeared. Kirsty’s partner Dougie believes she may be making more out of it than there actually is leaving Kirsty to try and dig into Joan’s ‘disappearance’ alone but is there an innocent explanation or is she putting herself and her baby at risk.

The story is told through transcripts mainly from the protagonist, Kirsty’s POV with some from the antagonist interspersed to give the other side of the story which also heightens the tension.
I enjoyed the different take on the story telling and the story as a whole which had a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming.

Love S.E Lynes’ books and this is a great addition, overall a great psychological thriller.

Her: I am on my way home, thinking only of the quiet, happy evening to come, when I see something completely impossible, and my heart stops dead. I would recognise those gorgeous pale blue eyes anywhere. It’s him. The high-school boyfriend I adored… Until the day he vanished without a trace. I run towards him, my pulse racing. He turns, politely, a puzzled look on that familiar face. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘Do I know you?’ I need answers. I’m certain he’s lying. I just have to prove it.

Him: Of course you recognised me. Always so keen, always trying to do right by everyone. It’s typical of my bad luck that we happened to run into each other. I left this place for a reason – one you never knew. And now I’m back, I have plans.

Buckle up, you're in for a ride! This was excellent, from the first page to the last. Lots of twists and turns, excellent characters, and fun writing. This is an example of why I love this genre so much. 5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. This is my honest opinion of the book.

This was my first book by the author #S. E. Lynes but I will certainly be checking out her others after reading #ThePerfectBoyfriend.
Despite really enjoying this thriller, it wasn't quite what I was expecting after reading the blurb. The majority of the book felt like it was focused on our heavily pregnant main character, Kirsty. Her frustrations of feeling like a "paranoid pregnant lady". I really felt for her when she had no support from loved ones, friends and the police. Kirsty persisted in her doubts over this ex boyfriend's return and her fears over her missing neighbour and finds herself in all sorts of danger.
I really enjoyed the 1 final twist which was a true shocker after thinking I had everything solved so a great mystery thriller from me.
My negatives, like I have seen on other reviews was sadly I didn't enjoy the Scottish speak, it was a little annoying (sorry Scots folk) and finally a gender reveal was rather bizarre towards the end. What was the point of that being kept from the reader?.. Maybe just a lesson for us to not make assumptions, I have no idea!
A great 4 stars though for an unpredictable read. Thank you #NetGalley for the copy

This is the first book I've read by this author, and based on the quality of this story, I’ll definitely be picking up more of their work. From start to finish, this was a fast-paced, suspenseful read that kept me hooked. I’m a huge fan of psychological thrillers, and this one absolutely delivered. The twists were unexpected and mind-blowing, and the story had me on the edge of my seat. I literally couldn’t put it down—it’s one of those books that keeps you up all night because you just have to know what happens next.

I loved the unique format of the book, told through recordings from a documentary about Kirsty and Hughie. It gave the story an interesting layer of depth, and I found myself really enjoying the “behind-the-scenes” vibe it added. The writing was so engaging, and the characters felt real and believable, which made the twists and turns even more gripping. Each twist was perfectly timed and took me by surprise, which is exactly what I look for in a psychological thriller.

The only minor issue I had was with the Scottish dialect and phrases. A few times, I was pulled out of the story when a character would say something I didn’t quite understand, but honestly, it’s a small thing. It didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book at all—it just made me pause for a moment to figure it out.

This was a fantastic read with great storytelling, plenty of suspense, and twists that will leave you thinking long after you finish. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The new S.E. Lynes book starts out with a good mystery: a pregnant nurse sees her once boyfriend again for the first time in many years, since he ran away leaving a horrible note behind, but he pretends he is not that person. A whole story follows, as the nurse can't let go and has to dig in deeper to find out if that really is that boyfriend and why he reurned after so long. I thought the story was nice, but a little dragged on. I can't wait to read the next book!

I enjoy S.E. Lynes books, I have read a few, but I found this book slow and drawn out. Unfortunately I gave up in the end, I just couldn’t get interested.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it.

Loved it from start to finiish. When midwife Kirsty is leaving a shift she thinks she sees someone that used to be in her llife years back. When she confronts him he acts as though he doesn't know her. Was she wrong or is he lying. Also why is her friend starting to act strange. These are things she needs to find out and will soon wish that dshe had left well alone.
Brillinat storyline. Can't wanit to read more from this author.

Release: Jan 5, 2025
-SE Lynes
Publisher: Bookouture

Rating: 4/5 ★ 

From the very first chapter, the book draws you in with its compelling, suspenseful atmosphere. The premise immediately grabs your attention: it’s about a woman searching for the "perfect" partner, only to discover that things are never as ideal as they seem. The tension builds beautifully throughout the story, making it impossible to put down.
What really impressed me was how well the author develops the main characters. You’re never quite sure who to trust or how far anyone is willing to go for love. The psychological complexity of the characters keeps you on edge, and as the layers peel back, you realize there’s so much more to the story than what meets the eye. SE Lynes does a fantastic job of blurring the lines between love and obsession, showing just how dangerous our perceptions of relationships can be.
The plot is full of twists and turns, and just when you think you have it figured out, the story takes another unexpected direction. The pacing is spot-on, keeping you hooked from beginning to end. I found myself second-guessing everything, which made the final twist all the more satisfying.
If you're a fan of psychological thrillers or suspenseful love stories, The Perfect Boyfriend is definitely worth a read. It's not your typical romance; it’s dark, twisted, and impossible to predict. A thrilling page-turner that will leave you questioning what "perfect" really means.

Favorite Quote: 

"Love. It makes us do things we never thought we could. Makes us say things we never thought we would. It changes us, shapes us, for better or for worse. And sometimes, it blinds us."

The Perfect Boyfriend by S.E. Lynes is a deeply disturbing, dark and twisty read. The perfect domestic suspense, it has you going in one direction only to be wrenched the other way. The premise was top notch and had so many jaw dropping moments.

Pregnant Kirsty is leaving her nursing shift one night and spots someone from her past. Not sure she trusts her hormonal self she calls out his name. She is sure he pauses for a moment but he quickly keeps going. Not sure what to believe, she follows him. Biggest mistake EVER. From here the craziness begins, including the mysterious disappearance of her elderly neighbor, sightings of a red car she believes is following her, and murder.

Told through the POV'S of the two main characters, it alternates past and present to give the reader enough detail to comprehend the events that lead up to a what did I just read ending. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy

Kirsty is a midwife at the local hospital, and she is also 8 months pregnant. She has just finished her shift and is tired and weary. On her way home she, she can’t believe her eyes that Hughie her ex-boyfriend that disappeared without a trace Is right in front of her, only leaving a letter that her that he didn’t really love her. She approaches him but he tells her she must be mistake. That is name is Bryan Reynolds.
The things that follow meeting him messes with Kirsty’s head and her partner Dougie puts it down to be pregnant and tells her she needs to look after herself but with other incidents that happen after Kirsty is adamant that they are all linked to Hughie and as she investigates it all. She gets into all sorts of heaps of trouble.
This is another great, tense thriller from the author that keeps you on your toes throughout. I did feel that the messages between Kirsty and Barry (Hughie) where a bit long winded and not really needed for the gist of the story. But I enjoyed it, nevertheless. 4 stars from me.

I'm always excited to see a new S.E Lynes book on the horizon, you are always in for a thrilling read!

The Perfect Boyfriend certainly did not disappoint. Just when I thought I had the ending all figured out the twists started coming.

The writing, as always, seemed effortless and was so easy to get engrossed in. A definite page turner to be kept for a lazy day.